MAC title and more on line for NIU, Kent State

Winner could be rewarded with BCS bowl invitation, though the odds are long for the Huskies

November 26, 2012|By Fred Mitchell, Chicago Tribune reporter

Jordan Lynch directs a high-powered NIU offense. (US Presswire Photo)

The stakes are especially high for Northern Illinois and Kent State — a pair of 11-1 teams who each finished unbeaten (8-0) during the Mid-American Conference regular season.

When the teams meet Friday night in Detroit to determine the MAC champion, the winner also could be rewarded with a BCS bowl invitation — though the odds are a lot longer for the Huskies.

Dynamic quarterback Jordan Lynch and NIU are ranked 21st in the BCS; Kent State is 17th. A Kent State victory coupled with Stanford beating UCLA likely would push the Golden Flashes into the top 16 and earn them a BCS bowl because the Big East champion won't be ranked in the top 16. A victorious NIU would need a huge bump in the polls to climb into the top 16.

"It helps us because we know if we really want to even be in the (BCS bowl) conversation like that, we have to win," NIU coach Dave Doeren said. "We are automatically in a bowl game, but if we want to be considered for one outside of our conference tie-ins, we have to win this game, so that just sort of puts fuel on the fire."Â¿

The Huskies are in the midst of an 11-game winning streak while Kent State has won a school-record 10 in a row. NIU has a 16-game MAC winning streak, the longest conference run in the nation.

"It's going to be an unbelievable game. It's going to be won in the last couple of minutes," Kent State coach Darrell Hazell said. "I will leave (the BCS bowl possibility) for the experts to decide. But I think it adds a little flavor that both teams are in the Top 25. But we'll worry about where we go bowl-wise after Friday night."

NIU's Jordan Lynch has attracted national attention as one of the country's most prolific dual-threat quarterbacks. Even an outside chance to showcase his talents in a BCS bowl has him excited.

"It would be huge," Lynch said Monday. "It would give us great publicity. To play Friday (in the MAC title game) on national TV to show the world what we're made of ... and if we can walk out of there with a victory, we can really show the world what we're made of. So it would be huge for this school. Any time we have a chance to get on a national stage, we want to prove to the world how good we are."

With Northwestern (9-3) ranked 22nd in the BCS standings — one slot behind NIU — and Illinois struggling mightily, Northern Illinois players proudly claim bragging rights when it comes to FBS programs in the state of Illinois.

"We consider ourselves the best team in the state," Lynch said. "To schedule Northwestern and Illinois for a game (in the future), that would be tremendous."

With head coaching jobs opening up throughout the country at larger schools such as Purdue, Arkansas, Tennessee, Boston College and Auburn, Doeren's name surely will be mentioned as a candidate.